Sunday, 18 September 2016

Kennington, London: for buyers seeking a good all-rounder — FT.com
... Oval and Kennington remain relatively untouched by the building boom on their doorstep. In fact, development has been conspicuous by its absence: just two schemes, comprising 354 homes, are under construction, according to data from the Estates Gazette.Traditionally, the area has been popular with first-time buyers and the LGBT community, says Ian Boardman of local agent Daniel Cobb. The first are attracted by the relative value for money given the area’s central location. The average price of a home sold in the three wards that span Oval and Kennington is £659,000, according to Land Registry data collected by Savills. A few hundred metres over Vauxhall Bridge in Pimlico the average is £1.09m. ...

... A three-bedroom house on Walcot Square is available for £1.27m through Daniel Cobb. On nearby Kennington Road the same agent has a four-bedroom Grade II-listed townhouse for £1.94m. Cricket nuts might be interested in the four-bedroom house on Fentiman Road available for £1.92m through Savills: just a seven-minute walk from the Oval ground. ...
... The area has little to offer for more than £3m, says Boardman. At these prices, it is more likely to attract politicians than bankers. Local agents claim the area is within the Division Bell zone for members of parliament — close enough for them to cover the distance in the eight minutes between when the bell is rung and a vote takes place. Although with Parliament Square more than 1.5 miles from most of Kennington, you might wonder how they manage.
Canny international buyers may yet join this diverse set in Kennington as the neighbouring building boom sends prices soaring. Boardman’s first interest from abroad came two years ago from an enterprising Malaysian, who bought a Georgian house in Methley Street. The price per sq ft was a shadow of what he would have paid in Nine Elms. The buyer told his friends, and now Boardman and his colleagues are serving a small stable of Malaysian investors. A few have even ventured out for the cricket. ...